After those three, Augustin will be the next point guard off the board. The diminutive first-team All-American has drawn comparisons to Steve Nash (sorry, I don't see it), and his jump shot and quickness should help him succeed in the right system. However, there are concerns about his size, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to defending bigger point guards.

With Ty Lawson dropping out, the last option at point guard is Mario Chalmers. Another player with the combo label, don't sleep on his ability to make it as a point guard at the next level. He's gotten better taking care of the ball (2.25 assist/turnover ratio), he's a tenacious defender (2.5 steals per game), he's deadly from the perimeter (46 percent from 3), and he's clutch — all the makings of a successful NBA point guard. Jamont Gordon could also get first-round consideration.

The jury is out on the strength of the point-guard position in this draft until we see what happens with Mayo, Bayless and Westbrook. But the potential for greatness is there, especially with Rose at the top.

Swing Men (2s and 3s)

This draft is strongest on the wings in terms of depth, even if the aforementioned combos end up point guards rather than shooting guards. Headlining this year's group of swingmen is Eric Gordon, the leading scorer in the Big Ten this past year at over 21 PPG. Though built in the mold of a combo guard himself, his strength, athleticism and outside shooting will allow him to be a full-time shooting guard in the pros. Although his stock has slipped since December, there is a good chance that, in a couple of years, we will be talking about him as one of the top 3-5 players to come out of this draft. The other notable shooting guard in the first round is Brandon Rush, whose size, athleticism and all-around skill may help him go as high as 15 to the Suns.

The small-forward position is the single deepest position in this draft. Three of them — Anthony Randolph, Joe Alexander, Danilo Gallinari — are widely considered to be lottery picks, and two others, Donte Greene and Nicolas Batum, could sneak into the lottery as well. Randolph is raw but shows great potential as a Shawn Marion/Lamar Odom-type player, Alexander is an athletic freak who could play both forward positions and has a nice mid-range game, and Danilo Gallinari is thought by many to be the best facilitator and playmaker not named Derrick Rose. Greene and Batum are furthest away but have just as much star potential. Chris Douglas-Roberts will make a team very happy late in the first round.

Food for thought: This group already contains a potentially lethal bunch of scorers. If Beasley makes the transition to small forward, and Mayo, Bayless and Westbrook end up playing off the ball, how good could this group of wings be? It's too much to even think about.

Second round

The second round in this year's draft is one of its biggest strengths, with players that can contribute at the NBA level well past the 40th pick.

This is where the swingmen cement their title as strongest position in the draft with potential first-rounders Bill Walker and Courtney Lee, draft-camp star Gary Forbes, and other athletes like J.R. Giddens, Davon Jefferson, Sonny Weems and L.R. Mbah a Moute.

Second-round big men D.J. White, Joey Dorsey, Devon Hardin and Richard Hendrix can save face for higher-profile frontcourt players as they try to become the next Paul Millsap or Carl Landry. Each has the ability to contribute at the next level, perhaps even exceed the immediate contributions of their first-round counterparts.

Conclusion

The draft's strengths appear to be distributed well with quality and depth at most positions, with great scorers, athletes and potential superstars scattered throughout each position. Teams in the mid-first round are in a better position than those in the mid-lottery as picks between 5-18 are fairly similar in talent level. After the first handful of guards, the potential drops off considerably, while a big man with considerable upside can be had further down in the draft There are contributors available in the frontcourt, but no one that jumps out at you aside from Michael Beasley. A great draft if you need help on the perimeter, not so great if you need immediate help in the paint.